Keep Holden On: Holden Name “Here to Stay,” Cars Could Be Imported from North America

Clifford Atiyeh

Dec 17, 2013

With Holden ceasing Australian production after 2017, future Commodores could come from the U.S.

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With General Motors shutting down Holden’s Australian plants by the end of 2017, we figured the brand name would wither away on the eve of its 70th anniversary. The short answer, according to a post today on Holden’s company blog, is “No. Holden is here to stay.”

That doesn’t mean that Holden’s lineup will remain intact. The GM subsidiary hasn’t released any details on whether Australian-built models, such as the Commodore and Ute, would see production shifted to other countries only to be imported back into Australia. We also don’t know if Holden Special Vehicles—the off-kilter motorsport division that gave us the GTO and the G8—will survive. We imagine that the LS3-powered Maloo R8 may have a rough future, but the Australian desire for fast, rear-wheel-drive hot rods hasn’t dried up.

Currently, the Chevrolet Caprice PPV police car and civilian SS are exported to the U.S., although by 2015, those cars will be built in North America under the forthcoming Zeta II platform. GM had said it would consider building a “cropped-rear-overhang sport wagon,” something like the Cruze Hatch or Cruze Sportwagon—and even the Ute pickup—in North American production facilities. If all goes well, perhaps Holden won’t lose much.